Describing themselves as “a melancholy blend of Nick Cave melodrama, Shadows twang and Roy Orbison croon”, An Axe no doubt have a dark flair to their music. Fittingly, their debut EP Some, When Alone, Cease To Exist (which, as you can above, has some seriously gorgeous artwork) was recorded in a church crypt no less in the midst of winter.

The EP is the first of a trilogy; the second already recorded and slated for release in December, and the third written and currently in production. A full album is also in the process of creation.

Formed in Autumn 2008, this four-piece came together with a ‘less is more approach’ to song writing: they wanted to scrape off layers and effects and make the music stand on its own thanks to the melodies and writing. This resulted in a whole album’s worth of songs, which were then narrowed down to the four tracks appearing on the first EP.

As you might have guessed by now, Some, When Alone, Cease To Exist is rather dark and gloomy, but in a beautiful way, like The Black Heart Procession or the already mentioned Nick Cave.

Although they haven’t been around for long, An Axe have already shared the stage with bands such as White Denim, Hjaltalin, Tall Firs, Trachetnburg Family Slideshow Players, The Twilight Sad, De Rosa, Rose Kemp, and are planning on doing their own UK tour early next year. They currently have a lot of shows coming up, so make sure you check their MySpace for dates.

~ “Island” ~